Writing is my way of processing events and finding a way to deal with my emotions. My stepfather's death was a particularly difficult time as he committed suicide because of his trauma in being a sex abuse survivor. In writing the piece Helpless I researched the effects of sexual abuse on men and I was able to understand him and his choice more.

I am very privileged that Kalliope Journal championed this piece by commissioning and published it. I am also particularly indebted to Dmetri Kakmi for putting on his editorial hat and so beautifully and sensitively editing it.

​Read here.

I received some wonderful news. I applied and received a grant from Arts Victoria for the development of my memoir. The incredibly talented Alice Pung has agreed to be my mentor in the development of this project and I'm really excited about working with her.

I am especially grateful to have been successful with this grant at this point in my life. Working full time has been challenging and having a mentor will give me some much needed support and impetus to focus on this project.

This project is supported by the Victorian Government through Arts Victoria.

My novel for children Amir: Friend on Loan is officially out. It is published by Garratt Publishing and is being distributed by Cengage publishing. You can read a sample chapter here. It is aimed for Year 7 and Year 8.

To celebrate the publication of Amir: friend on Loan I'm listing a giveaway via Goodreads of two copies. Click below to enter. If you're interested you can buy a copy via My Shop page.

Synopsis:
Amir has been best friends with Dragan since they were in kinder and the boys are looking forward to starting high school together next year. Even though Amir’s parents are Bosnian Muslim and Dragan is of Serbian Orthodox background, the boys think of themselves as Australian and their cultural differences have never mattered ... until the Balkan war breaks out. Suddenly their family tells them that they are not supposed to be friends because Bosnians and Serbs are fighting overseas. Can they find a way to keep their friendship in the face of their family’s opposition?

Also I am doing a book author event for Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia with Demet Divaroren, Irfan Yusuf, Alyena Mohummadally, and Tasneem Chopra on Saturday 29 March at Collins Booksellers, 67 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds, from 1pm to 3pm.

Last night we had the launch of Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia at the Wheeler Centre. There were 300 people in the audience and we sold 60 books. How amazing! Here are some photos of the night.

Our three contributors Tasneem Chopra, Irfan Yusuf and Alyena Mohummadally who spoke so eloquently and with great pathos and humour about their experiences of growing up Muslim.

The two editors me and Demet Divaroren getting our poses on.

Look, I'm famous!!! I'm on the big screen!

Now I know I've made it-there is a sketch of me by my friend Jodi Wiley. What an amazing momento!

I'm still buzzing from it all. It's been an amazing ride. Thank you to Demet Divaroren, Tasneem Chopra, and Jodi Wiley for the photos. There is going to be footage of our presentation in a month's time. Excited and kind of scared about seeing it, but anyway.

I've also decided to giveaway two copies of my novel The Good Daughter to celebrate. This will be the first in a series of giveaways of all my books. So if you'd like to enter please click below.

So the anthology is officially launched and it's been getting some good traction with publicity.

It was featured on the Today show with contributor Sabrina Houssami. Sabrina also wrote a piece for the Sydney Morning Herald's Style magazine.

Contributor Alyena Mohummadally was on ABC Breakfast TV, view interview below. She also had radio interviews on Jon Faine here and on ABC Drawing Room hosted by Waleed Aly and talking with Alice Pung here, and Joy radio station here.

There were The Age extracts with Bianca Elmir, Randa Abdel-Fattah, and Irfan Yusuf.

Bianca Elmir was also on radio with Richard Fidler here.

There are two launches. A Melbourne Launch at the Wheeler Centre on  Monday 24 February 2014, 6:15PM - 7:45PM, and you can book free tickets here. And a Sydney launch at Abbeys Bookshop Thursday 13 February 2014 at 6 pm, info here.

And I'm very excited to have received advanced copies of my novel for children Amir: Friend on Loan.

I also wrote the teaching notes for Coming of Age: Growing up Muslim in Australia and they can be downloaded from the Allen and Unwin website here.

What an awesome start to the year!!!

So I got my stack of books with copies of Coming of Age. Very excited to hold it in my hands and actually have the tangible proof of all that hard work.

I'm so excited to announce that the anthology I've been co-editing has gone to print.

I've been enjoying a blissful few days ever since. The last few weeks before it went to print were frantic with all the activity and stress. Now it's just so nice to sit back and wait for the advanced copies to come to my mail box.

I'm very excited about next year. There are a few things in progress  that I'll be announcing as they come into play, but for now I'm going to enjoy life and this window of peace and contentment after all the hard work of this year.

Note: The anthology will be available in bookstores in February 2014.

At the Etchings Launch in Embiggen Books reading from Woman on Fire. Photo by Amanda Summons Photography.

It's been a big week and I'm still recovering. I finished university and I am now officially on the path to being a teacher. It feels so amazing to finally have reached this point and have it all behind me and my future as a teacher in front of me.

Last week was marred by a pretty nasty virus that I'm still not completely recovered from so I don't feel like I've had the time to properly take this in or even to celebrate.

However, on Thursday night I managed to go to the Etchings launch which I was so excited about. My memoir piece Woman on Fire is published in the issue and my husband's short story When I am Dead White was also published in the same edition. Such a lovely moment. I managed to do a reading and it was so nice to be a part of the writing community with all these other wonderful writers.

The theme of Etchings is Visual Eyes and so there are two covers for this edition and you can see me posing with both. It's almost like a his and hers version. 

Kevin Brophy launched the issue and he said that today a book is becoming an art form and the Etchings journal is the most beautifully produced journal in Australia, and I couldn't agree more. Looking forward to reading the whole issue and finding out what gems await me. To view the issue click here.


Last week was also big because I very ambitiously embarked on Nano. I can only blame it on the illness affecting my mind at the time. I was a Nano success story for three days, and then stopped. It's just not the right time. I'm burnt out from study and dealing with the rather daunting prospect of looking for a job as a teacher. I have survived my first interview, but it was the most nerve wracking experience of my life and I'm still shell-shocked from the stress of it all. I also have some works in progress that I want to dedicate my time to at the moment and just enjoy the process of writing for a few weeks, without putting pressure on myself.

For the past two years I have been co-editing with Demet Divaroren an anthology of Muslim writers to be published by Allen and Unwin. It has been one of the most challenging and exhilarating things I have ever done and we are squeaking over the finish line. It will go to print in November and be out in February 2014.I can't believe that after all this hard work, sweat and tears it's nearly going to be over!

We're now reaching the exciting stage where we are planning the launch and publicity, and we got our first review and have had our first interview in Books + Publishing Magazine. You can read the review below and if you want to read the interview you can get a free trial and access it.

The review is so great and I can't wait for the book to be out in the world for people to read it. We have so many incredibly talented writers who have shared their stories:

Randa Abdel-Fattah
Tasneem Chopra
Amal Awad
Irfan Yusuf
Hazem El Masri
Arwa El Masri
Tanveer Ahmed
Ali Alizadeh
Alyena Mohummadally
Sabrina Houssami
Michael Mohammed Ahmad
Bianca Elmir

It's been an honour and privilege to work with them. For now here's the review:

Books + Publishing Review of Coming of Age: Growing Up Muslim in Australia

Review by Meredith Lewin

Coming of Age is the kind of book that will change how readers look at the world, at others and themselves. This anthology of real-life stories from Australian Muslim authors explores the complexities of growing up Muslim in multicultural Australia—in the 1980s and 1990s but also the post-9/11 landscape, where to be visibly Muslim was suddenly redefined. Pitched at the YA nonfiction market, its strong human interest emphasis will appeal to engaged teenagers and a broader Gen X/Y audience. Aiming to demystify Islam and challenge ‘Islamaphobia’, the contributors succeed brilliantly at highlighting the diversity of Muslim culture and identity. From ‘halal romance’ at Muslim youth camp to female kickboxing, professional football and the Miss World contest, the writers explore how family, friendship, religion, gender, sexuality and culture shaped who they became. Particularly fascinating are pieces by female contributors examining body image, faith, identity and desire that shatter the stereotypes. Together, the stories expose common threads of hope, love, belief and belonging—and the intense alienation and discrimination experienced by the authors. Their individual paths to coming of age, coloured with many shades of humour, warmth, sadness, anger, determination and honesty, will resonate with readers from all backgrounds and beliefs. 

And hopefully this is one of many more exciting things to come.